Florida Schools Implement New Test Requirements

Photo Credit: KAYLA LOKEINSKY

BY BRANDON SLOANE

The Florida Department of Education is implementing a new policy for all Florida high schools that will require each student to have a “college ready” score on either the SAT, ACT, or the new PERT (Postsecondary Education Readiness Test) exam by the end of their junior year.

Starting with the class of 2013, if students are unable to meet these standards, they will be required to take college preparedness classes their senior year to compensate.

Over the past decade, the State Florida has steadily raised education standards in order to give students a better education. The idea for these test requirements came from the No Child Left Behind policy, which works to help all students graduate from high school. It was decided that there needed to be a universal score to measure if students are “college ready”. Legislators worked with both the SAT and the ACT in order to set a passing score.

“Being college ready is going to give students options when it comes to getting a college education,” Guidance counselor Sharon Friedlander said. “It is going to give them more opportunities to pursue different colleges and majors without taking remedial courses.”

Students who are unable to meet the standards will be required to take college preparation classes their senior year in math, reading, or writing. The courses will be designed specifically to give students the tools they need to not only pass standardized tests, but also to better prepare them for college rigor.

“I really think implementing these classes will be helpful for students who have scores that are on the border,” Junior Eugene Cho said. “Knowing they may have to take a preparation class if they don’t pass these exams will give them that extra motivation to achieve.”

Students can register for the SAT at www.collegeboard.org and can register for the ACT at ACTstudent.org. Cooper City High will be administering the PERT to all juniors without a college ready score on the ACT or SAT at the end of the school year.

The new college ready minimum scores are as follows:

ACT                                         SAT                                    PERT

Reading           18                                                440                                    104

Writing            19                                                440                                    113

Math                17                                                440                                    100